The Heart Knows
by MLaw
Summary: Napoleon is near death in UNCLE medical, and Illya is forced to leave on assignment, dealing with the fear he could lose his parter while gone. Originally posted for the PicFic Tuesday challenge on section7mfu on Live Journal and Dreamwidth. The cover pic was the prompt. pre-saga


He listened to the steady blip of the heart monitor, and the whooshing sound of the breathing apparatus that were keeping Napoleon Solo alive.

Illya Kuryakin leaned forward staring at his partner while sitting in a molded plastic chair with his elbows resting on his knees. It was really a cafeteria style chair, not built for comfort and why they used them in medical, he had no idea.

Though sitting vigil for long hours besides one's partner, he supposed, hadn't been taken into consideration, the chairs were a necessary evil. After too many times of doing this, he'd learned to borrow a pillow and tuck it under his rump for some cushioning.

The medical staff had become accustomed to this behavior, as many of the Section II agents followed suit, still watching the other's backs while laid up in medical.

Most survived, but this time it was looking grave for Solo, and knowing this had pulled the Russian down into a deep fit of melancholia, but still stoic as ever, he remained a quiet sentinel by his partner's side.

Though Illya was used to seeing the man injured and out of it...it was never like this. His partner and friend was on full life support, with a feeding tube, a number of intravenous pic lines for who knew what, as well as one for blood. He'd lost a lot of blood...

The Russian was morose and withdrawn and would not talk to anyone, though the nursing staff tried looking after him, bringing him tea and snacks. He gratefully accepted them with a nod of his head, and went back to staring at the American.

Illya had been told he was needed to go on an assignment and a genuine fear gnawed at him over leaving his partner. What if Napoleon died while he was gone?

It was their long established custom to remain at each other's bedside when injured, waiting for the other to awaken or recuperating, but following the long operation to remove several bullets from Napoleon's body, he didn't wake up. He'd coded several times, after which was put on life support. The surgeons said the senior agents chances of survival were slim at best. This was something Illya was not ready to accept, but deep down he knew it really was possible.

Solo's, strength...his staunch optimism and enthusiasm for life were subject to the laws of human biology. No matter how much Illya wished it not to be so, Napoleon could die.

Agent Goran Kovač peeked his head into the room. "How is he doing?"*

"The same."

"You know we have to go soon."

"I know...but Ranni," Illya paused, not one to express his personal feelings to others. "I must be honest. I do not wish to leave him. Napoleon has a fear of dying alone... how can I not be with him if that happens?"

"Illya, I feel it in my heart that Allah is watching over him, otherwise how would he have been bestowed the gift of his 'Solo' luck all this time? Surely that is God-given and not mere coincidence?"

"You know I do not believe in a God," Illya looked up at him with bloodshot eyes.

"Well I do, and I have faith enough for both of us. Napoleon is in your heart isn't he?"

"Yes, I suppose that is true, though we are partners and friends, we have become more like brothers."

"Napoleon knows this, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does...of that I am certain."

"Then neither of you are ever truly alone. You are both in each others hearts as brothers, regardless of how far a distance physically separates you from each other."

Illya raised an eyebrow at Ranni's insight. It was true, he and Napoleon would always have that connection. He stood from his chair, leaning over towards his partner's ear, whispering to him.

"I have to go_ moy brat_, though I do not want to do so. I will be back. I promise. Please do not leave while I am gone?"

The rhythm on the heart monitor suddenly sped up for a few beats, but moments later settled back to a normal sinus rhythm.

"I think he heard you," Ranni smiled.

"I hope so."

Illya headed out with Kovač, destined for a quick 'in and out' mission in Sarajevo. Though Yugoslavia was still a Communist country, it was fairly safe for the agents to travel there now. Given Goran's parents were from Bosnia and he was fluent in most of the regional languages, while Illya was well-versed in Serbian, they would blend in easily.

At the end of World War II, Tito had ousted the Soviet Union and was then "excommunicated" by Josef Stalin. Due to Soviet blockades and sanctions, Yugoslavia began developing trade and diplomatic relationships with western European governments, even though it remained politically Communist

Though after the death of Stalin, relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia were slowly improving; still Marshall Tito was being a bad boy, stirring up trouble between the ethnic factions and pushing his agenda for the removal of certain ethnic groups and stirring up trouble between the native Serbs, mostly Christian and the Croatians who were Muslin, even though they were both Slavic peoples.

The Serbian expulsion of Croats, Muslims and smaller nationalities from their native areas was an effort to make the regions purely Serbian. This policy of 'ethnic cleansing' was responsible for the huge wave of Muslim refugees flooding into many European countries. The detention camps where Serbs were holding large numbers of Muslim prisoners were not, however, places of extermination in the Nazi sense. In spite of that fact, there was a lot of senseless killing going on.

Muslims from other regions such as Bosnia clashed with the Serbs, making for tumultuous ethnic in-fighting there; Alexander Waverly felt the partnering of Kovač and Kuryakin appropriate for the mission.

Illya had been captured once while on a mission in Belgrade, put in a Yugoslavian prison under a false name, and made to suffer terribly because he was perceived as a Russian spy, when relations with the Soviet Union were at an all time low, though he tried to prove to his captors his allegiance was to U.N.C.L.E. he failed.

If it hadn't been for Napoleon, April and Mark rescuing him, thanks to the aid of a Red Cross worker, he'd have most likely perished there anonymously, and forgotten. The prison doctor managed to keep him alive long enough to be saved by his fellow agents.*

Both Illya and Ranni knew their mission in-country would still be no cakewalk. They just had to stay low, get in and take possession of the stolen document that was to have been delivered to the United Nations; one that showed more proof of the plan for ethnic cleansing being enacted by Marshall Tito.

It was decided Ranni should take the lead on this particular mission. It would look good in his file and would help in Waverly's decision in selecting a permanent partner for the young agent, which suited Illya perfectly as his mind wasn't completely on the mission. His thoughts continued to drift back to Napoleon as they boarded their JAT Airways flight, taking them to the international airport in Belgrade and from there they'd travel by train to Sarajevo.

The words _'please do not die Napoleon,_' kept repeating over and over as in his head, as if he could will his partner to live.

.

Illya and Ranni, using great stealth as well as a bit of boldness, successfully completed their assignment and returned to New York in less than four days time, and for once, completely unscathed.

Kovač made his first mission report to the Old Man, much to Waverly's delight, and he instantly decided upon a partner for the young man. Goran would be paired with a young recruit named Avi Ziv, a former Mossad agent. Just as the Old Man's partnering the American Solo and the Russian, Kuryakin had been a resounding success; he foresaw Kovač and Ziv a good match, though only time would give the true results to that pairing.

Illya left Ranni to finish his report once he'd been told by the Old Man Napoleon was still alive and was given permission to leave. He headed directly up to medical, stopping only at the nurses station to get an update on his partner's condition.

"Welcome back Illya," Nurse Walsh smiled at him, "Good news, he's improved so much so that he's been taken off life support. It's almost miraculous. Go ahead to him."

Illya walked down the corridor, taking a few tentative steps inside Solo's room; still hearing the familiar sound of the heart monitor. There were less IV lines, and he was breathing on his own. Napoleon's pallor was much improved.

He pulled up the orange chair beside the bed, not bothering to retrieve a pillow for himself, and leaned forward, taking hold of the American's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I am back Napoleon, the mission went well, and Ranni is going to make a fine agent. Would you believed we returned without injury, lucky for me I suppose...since you were not there to cover my back..." He was enthusiastic that his friend looked to be on the road to recovery, making the usually quiet Russian babble on for a few minutes.

As Illya spoke, Napoleon's heart rate increased, just as it had last time.

"Napoleon? Can you hear me?"

Illya watched as his friends eyes slowly opened to narrow slits, and the American spoke in a hushed voice.

"'Wow, since when did you become so talkative?" Napoleon tried smiling.

"Welcome back my brother." Illya grinned at him.

"Good to be back." Napoleon squeezed the Russian's hand. "I missed you pal."

"You were awake while I was gone?"

"No, but I dreamed...no, I felt it in my heart. You were here, but not here."

Illya cocked his head, thinking perhaps Ranni might have been right after all...

.

* ref "A Leaf Moves"

a/n: OC Agent Goran (Ranni) Kovač was first introduced in "An Unidentified Flying What?" And is a character created at the request of a reader.


End file.
